Socketing machine hose pull

ABSTRACT

A machine for assembling flexible hose to hose end fittings utilizing a socket. In such machines the socket is chucked and rotated and the hose end is inserted into the socket for engagement by the internal spiraled socket serrations. In the invention, manually operated force multiplying apparatus in the form of a winch forces the hose clamp and hose, toward the socket, and by use of a reversing bar the winch may be used to disassemble the hose and socket by reversing the direction of axial force on the hose.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Detachable or reusable fittings for flexible hose have the advantage ofpermitting hose assemblies of various lengths to be readily producedwith a minimum inventory of parts. Hose wound upon a spool merely needbe cut to the desired length and a fitting assembled to each hose end tocomplete the assembly. Such fittings commonly employ a nipple receivedwithin the hose bore and a socket threaded upon the nipple engages theexterior surface of the hose end in radial spaced alignment with thenipple. In this manner the hose end is firmly gripped between the nippleand the socket establishing a fluid tight relationship between the hoseand fitting, and threads, nuts or other connection structure mountedupon the nipple permits the fitting to be connected to the othercomponents of the system. A typical detachable hose and fitting of thistype is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,226,702.

With hose fittings of this type, the socket usually includes internalserrations for increasing the frictional engagement of the socket withthe hose cover, and such serrations are typically of a spiral or threadconfiguration permitting the socket to be "threaded" upon the hose end.Usually, the spiraled or helical socket serrations are of a roundedconfiguration to prevent cutting or tearing of the hose cover.

When assembling fittings and hose of large diameter, i.e. hose having anOD of 2 inches or greater, considerable torque is required to thread thesocket upon the hose, and commonly, the hose must be firmly clamped anda wrench is applied to the socket to produce the necessary torque.

Where a significant number of hose assemblies are assembled, such as inthe plant of an industrial equipment manufacturer, or a hosedistributor, it is common to employ powered machines for assembling thefittings upon flexible hose, and in such machines the hose is clampedagainst rotation. while the socket is chucked and rotated by an electricmotor. As the socket is rotated the hose is manually pushed into therotating socket to produce the assembly. Such hose assembly machines aresold by the assignee identified as Model Nos. FT1013 and FT1097.

In the operation of the aforedescribed assembly machines the axialmovement of the hose relative to the socket is produced manually, andconsiderable axial force on the hose is often required, especially withthe larger sizes of hose and sockets, but, heretofore, power or forcemultiplying means were not available for axially translating the hoseand considerable effort was required by the operator when assembling ordisassembling hose and fittings.

It is an object of the invention to provide a hose assembly machinewherein manually operated force multiplying hose feeding means areutilized to feed the hose into a rotating socket, or retract the hosetherefrom, and thereby substantially reduce the effort required for hoseassembly or disassembly.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a manual hosefeeding or disassembly means for use with existing powered hose assemblymachines wherein the apparatus of the invention may be retroactivelyfitted to existing hose assembly machines with a minimum of modificationthereto.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide manual means forfeeding and retracting hose relative to a fitting socket when theapparatus is economical to produce and use, and may be readily utilizedby operators of ordinary skill.

In the practice of the invention, the hose assembly machine commonlyconsists of a powered chuck mounted upon a chuck frame and a reversibleelectric motor selectively rotating the chuck and clamped socket ineither direction of rotation. Guide means parallel to the axis of chuckrotation support a hose clamp wherein the clamp, and clamped hose, ismovable in a direction parallel to the axis of socket rotation, and thehose end is maintained coaxial with the socket. Such apparatus is known,as described above, and during socket rotation manual axial displacementof the hose clamp and hose toward the socket permits the hose to enterthe socket and be threaded therein upon the socket serrations.

In the practice of the invention, a shaft is rotatably mounted upon theapparatus frame upon bearings, and hexagonal drive heads mounted uponthe ends of the reel shaft permit the shaft to be rotated by means of aconventional ratchet wrench. A nylon web or strap is affixed at one endto the reel shaft, and the other end of the reel shaft is attached tothe hose clamp. As the reel shaft is located on the frame in thedirection of the chuck relative to the location of the hose clamp,rotation of the reel shaft by the ratchet wrench winds the strap uponthe shaft, pulling the hose clamp toward the chuck, and in this mannerthe hose clamp, and hose, are "winched" toward the rotating socket forhose assembly purposes.

When using the invention to disassemble hose from a socket, a reversingbar is mounted upon the ends of the hose clamp guides and the strappasses around the outer portion of the reversing bar prior to beingaffixed to the hose clamp. As the location of the reversing bar locatesthe bar at a greater distance from the chuck than the hose clamp,tensioning of the strap will displace the hose clamp, and hose, awayfrom the chuck and the socket producing the necessary axial force on thehose to permit disassembly of the hose and socket.

The apparatus of the invention is of a relatively simple configuration,readily manufacturable and saleable at moderate expense, yet theinvention permits high axial forces to be readily mechanically imposedupon the hose within a hose assembly machine substantially reducing themanual effort required for hose assembly and disassembly purposes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The aforementioned objects and advantages of the invention will beappreciated from the following description and accompanying drawingswherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hose assembly machine in accord withthe invention illustrating the hose clamp at its outer location, thereversing bar being shown in exploded relationship to the hose clampguides, and the strap attached to the hose clamp in the assembly mode,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the apparatus of the inventionillustrating the reversing bar in place and the strap attached to thehose clamp in the hose disassembly mode, and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, detail, perspective view of the reel shaft,reversing bar and associated components.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention pertains to the apparatus for manuallymechanically feeding and retracting the hose clamp on a hose assemblymachine relative to the chuck, by force multiplying means and in thedrawings, use of the apparatus with known hose assembly machine isillustrated. Such a hose assembly machine includes a frame 10 supportedupon tripod legs 12, and a power head 14 is mounted upon the frame upona pair of metal straps 16, each having a front end region 18. The powerhead 14 includes an electric motor within the head, not shown, operablyconnected to the rotatable head plate 20, wherein the head plate can berotated in either direction by conventional bi-directional switches,which may include a foot operated switch, as is known. Head plateincludes a chuck 22 attached to the head plate by extensions 24, and thechuck includes radially movable jaws 26 for firmly gripping a hosefitting socket 28.

The power head 14 supports a pair of parallel cylindrical guides 30which are parallel to the axis of rotation of the chuck 22 and terminateat their outer ends, which are provided with a bore 32. A hose clamp 34is slidably mounted upon the guides 30 for movement toward and away fromthe chuck 22, and the hose clamp includes jaws 36 adjustable by means ofa screw and wheel 38. The hose clamp jaws 36 include a V-shaped notchfor holding the hose 40 wherein the hose end will be in axial alignmentwith the socket 28, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Hose assembly apparatus of the aforedescribed type is used by chuckingthe socket 28 within the chuck jaws 26, and clamping the hose 40 withinthe hose clamp 34 by tightening of the screw wheel 38. The chuck 22 andsocket is rotated in the desired direction by energizing the motordriving the chuck, and the operator manually pushes upon the hose clamp34, forcing the hose toward the socket wherein the hose end enters thesocket, engages the spiral socket serrations and continuing axialpressure is maintained upon the hose and hose clamp until the hose hasfully entered the socket and "bottoms out". At such time the rotation ofthe socket is terminated and the assembly of socket and hose iscompleted. Disassembly of the hose from the socket is accomplished byreversing the above sequence, and a "pull" is applied to the hose andhose clamp by the operator to aid in the unthreading of the hose fromthe socket.

With larger sizes of hose, the aforementioned assembly procedurerequires extensive effort by the operator as the entering of the hoseinto the socket is often difficult to achieve and the frictionalengagement between the spiral serrations of the socket and hose is notsufficient to "draw" the hose into the socket.

In the practice of the invention a reel shaft 42 is rotatably mountedupon the front ends of the power head mounting straps 16, as apparentfrom the drawing. This mounting is achieved by utilizing brackets 44each having a bearing 46 which rotatably supports the shaft 42. Thebrackets 44, being of a "U" configuration, are provided with alignedholes wherein bolts 48 may be inserted through holes in the brackets andthe straps to firmly mount the reel shaft to the straps at a locationsubstantially below the chuck 22.

The ends of the reel shaft 42 are each provided with a hexagonal head 50which forms a drive head which may be received within the socket of aconventional socket ratchet wrench 52, FIG. 3, wherein the shaft may bereadily rotated with a high torque by the ratchet wrench.

A nylon web or strap 54 includes an end 56 which is wound upon the reelshaft 42 and to assure winding of the strap upon the shaft, a screw, notshown, extends through the strap end and is threaded into the shaft.Thus, rotation of the reel shaft will cause the strap 54 to wind uponthe shaft in a winch type of relationship as apparent in FIG. 3.

The outer end 58 of the strap 54 includes a loop 60 formed by D ring 62permitting the outer end of the strap to be attached to the hose clamp34 as apparent in FIG. 3. Of course, the looped outer end of the strapwill be attached to the hose clamp prior to the other end of the strapbeing affixed to the reel shaft 42.

As the reel shaft 42 is located in the direction of the chuck 22relative to the normal position of the hose clamp 34, it will beappreciated that winding of the strap 54 upon the shaft by the wrench 52will draw the hose clamp, and clamped hose 40, toward the chuck andchucked socket 28. Thus, during assembly of a hose and socket, theoperator will oscillate the ratchet wrench 52 to produce the necessarytorque upon the reel shaft to pull the hose clamp 34 and hose in thedirection of the chuck and socket to permit the assembly operation totake place with a minimum effort on the part of the operator.

If it is desired to use the reel shaft 42 to disassemble a hose 40 froma fitting socket 28, the U-shaped reversing bar 64 is utilized. Thereversing bar includes a base 66 and legs 68, and the legs 68 arereadily received within the bores 32 defined in the ends of the guides30. Thus, by unwinding the reel shaft to permit sufficient slack in thestrap 54 the reversing bar may be slipped "inside" the strap and thelegs 68 inserted into the guide end bores as shown in FIG. 3. In thisrelationship the strap will be "outside" of the reserving bar, and thetensioning of the strap will pull the hose clamp 34 away from the chuckand chucked socket permitting high axial forces to be applied to thehose 40 for disassembly purposes.

Of course, when using the apparatus as aforedescribed, it is necessarythat the chuck motor rotate the chuck in that direction commensuratewith the operation underway and the operator, will, at all times,maintain close control of the operation of the power head motor.

It will be appreciated that the reel shaft 42 and associated componentsare of a readily manufacturable form and configuration, and may beproduced at a reasonable cost. The ease with which the apparatus may beassembled to existing hose assembly machines permits the apparatus to beretrofitted to existing hose assembly machines with littlemodifications.

It is to be appreciated that for the apparatus to function as described,the reel shaft must be located closer to the chuck 22 than the normalposition of the hose clamp wherein tensioning of the strap will permitsufficient axial displacement of the hose clamp to achieve the desiredpurpose. Of course, the reel shaft may be attached to the assemblymachine apparatus at a location different than that illustrated anddescribed, as long as tensioning of the strap will draw the hose clamptoward the chuck, and it is understood that other modifications to theinventive concepts may be apparent to those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:
 1. Apparatus for assembling a hose fitting socket having aninternally spirally, serrated recess, having an axis to the end of aflexible hose, wherein the apparatus includes a frame rotatablysupporting a socket holding chuck having an axis whereby the socket maybe rotated about its axis, power drive means drivingly connected to thechuck, a hose clamp adapted to clamp a flexible hose, guide meansmounting the hose clamp upon the frame in substantial alignment with thechuck axis for reciprocal movement toward and away from the chuck, theimprovement comprising, manually operated force multiplying hose clamptranslating means mounted upon the frame operatively connected to thehose clamp for selectively translating the hose clamp upon the guidemeans toward and away from the chuck to aid in assembling anddisassembling of a chucked socket and a hose held within the hose clamp,said manually operated hose clamp translating means comprising a winchdefined by a shaft rotatably mounted upon the frame below the chuck at alocation closer to the chuck than the hose clamp having a lengthsubstantially perpendicular to the chuck axis and an accessible end, aflexible strand wound upon said shaft having an outer end attached tothe hose clamp, and manual shaft rotating means defined on said shaftend.
 2. In an apparatus for assembling a hose fitting as in claim 1,said manual shaft rotating means comprising a wrench engaging hub fixedupon said shaft end, said strand comprising a web adapted to be woundupon said shaft.
 3. Apparatus for assembling a hose fitting sockethaving an internally spirally, serrated recess, having an axis to theend of a flexible hose, wherein the apparatus includes a frame rotatablysupporting a socket holding chuck having an axis whereby the socket maybe rotated about its axis, power drive means drivingly connected to thechuck, a hose clamp adapted to clamp a flexible hose, guide meansmounting the hose clamp upon the frame in substantial alignment with thechuck axis for reciprocal movement toward and away from the chuck, theimprovement comprising, manually operated force multiplying hose clamptranslating means mounted upon the frame operatively connected to thehose clamp for selectively translating the hose clamp upon the guidemeans toward and away from the chuck to aid in assembling anddisassembling of a chucked socket and a hose held within the hose clamp,said manually operated hose clamp translating means comprising a winchrotatably mounted upon the frame at a location closer to the chuck thanthe hose clamp, a flexible strand wound upon said winch having an outerend attached to the hose clamp, manually operating means connected tosaid winch, the guide means including a pair of substantially parallelguides, each having an end located a greater distance from the chuckthan the hose clamp and each end having an axial bore defined therein,said hose clamp translating means including a U-shaped reversing barhaving a base and parallel legs extending from said base in a commondirection, said legs being received within the guide's bores wherebysaid base bridges the guides adjacent said ends thereof and passing ofsaid strand about said bar base permits said winch to translate the hoseclamp away from the chuck.